When we first started selling pork at Six Sigma Ranch, I really struggled with pricing. Pork at the grocery store was just so cheap. I ran the numbers and there was no way that we could cover the expenses of pasture raised organic pork at grocery store prices. It took a real leap of faith to set a price reflecting what the meat is actually worth.

It’s tempting when starting a farm business to price the same as what people can get at the local supermarket. Here’s the problem. The brands that sell to your local supermarket are often (but not always) large companies that sell huge amounts of product all over the country and, sometimes, the world. They compete with low-priced high-volume goods. When you set your price the same as theirs in an effort to get customers, you could be on the right track to go out of business. You may never make enough to break even as a small farmer.

But here is the awesome news: I found out that there are plenty of customers out there who are looking for high quality, amazing food and willing to pay for it!

Rachel